Saratoga is a city known for its environmental consciousness and a place where green practices were put forth before the idea was in vogue.

The term “environmentally friendly” has now become synonymous with the word “savings” as both businesses and homeowners have learned that swapping out something as small as an old light bulb not only helps reduce energy consumption, but also saves money.

But as Saratoga moves toward a greener future, city staff and Saratoga City Council members have noted that these changes take time as well as capital. But what if there was a way to cut down on the time and have no up-front costs?

The council heard such a statement when it sat down with employees of Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. at a study session last week at city hall.

The company had finished a preliminary study that identified ways the city could reduce energy and water consumption and lower operating costs.

Siemens presented the council with a data analysis on last year’s utility costs, which totaled $400,000. Fifty-five percent of that was spent on water, mostly for irrigation, and 40 percent went to pay the city’s electricity bill, said Kelly Fergusson, business development manager with Siemens.

Fergusson presented the council with data charts showing some of the biggest energy consumption was from city hall, the civic theater and community development department and the Saratoga Library. The city owns the library property but the county library pays the utility costs.

Larger projects, such as air conditioning unit upgrades and cool roofs, as well as smaller projects such as lighting upgrades and installation of energy controls on vending machines, were a few of the ideas Siemens had to help Saratoga lower consumption and save money.

Not every council member was convinced.

“You haven’t sold me,” said vice mayor Kathleen King, who said she wanted to be sure she knew the costs associated with the proposed projects and wanted to know if staff thought it could make the changes on its own.

Councilman Howard Miller said there were benefits to working with Siemens, but wanted the company to ensure the city would see a payback in its investment in a shorter period of time than Siemens was proposing.

Councilwoman Jill Hunter and King both expressed uneasiness about moving forward with Siemens. Neither wanted to pay the $50,000 it would take to sign a contract and implement any changes.

Mayor Chuck Page said that the city isn’t on the hook to pay the company anything at this point. The city would have to write up a letter of intent and then the council members would decide whether they wanted to continue the partnership.

“We don’t have to do it, but what we’ll get back will say what we’re capable of saving. And we can say no way, our staff can do that over the next 30 years,” he said.

“I’m in favor of going to the next step to see if they can meet the criteria set forth,” city manager Dave Anderson said when asked for his thoughts by Hunter. “Then all of you collectively will have to make a decision. The company will have to decide if they can meet [the criteria] and the council decide whether [its proposal is] acceptable.”

No decision was made at the meeting. A date to discuss the item has not been set.